From unified sport to Olympic dreams – bocce’s meteoric rise

Bigger, better and more ballsy than ever – bocce looks set to continue its meteoric rise in 2024.

The social and highly accessible sport has picked up where it left off before Covid and is now being played by more people and in entirely new locations.

From more unified sport on portable courts in US schools to bocce broadcasts and Olympic aspirations, we’ve taken a look at where bocce is headed this year.

Read our latest feature article exploring how far bocce has come, what the major trends are for the year ahead and where the game might be headed.

Bocce is going places.

The rise of unified sports

Young people with disabilities don’t always get a chance to enjoy the joy of sport or participate on their school sport teams.

Fortunately, change is in the wind with the increasing uptake of unified sports in schools across the United States. Unified sports competitions are those involving people with and without intellectual disabilities playing together in the same teams.

One such place is New York, where Special Olympics New York and New York City Public Schools are co-funding an initiative to provide schools with competitions, coaches and equipment to ensure people of all abilities, including those with disabilities, can experience the joy of sport – including bocce.

Bocce during a press event promoting unified sport in New York public schools.

Special Olympics New York Director of Program for Unified Sports UCS and Community Engagement Vance Toure said bocce is an inclusive sport that caters to people of all abilities, making it ideal for engaging a school’s entire student body, including through unified competitions.

“Bocce is great like that. Even if people haven’t played much sport before, once they realise they can get the bocce ball close to the pallino their eyes light up and the smiles on their faces are so authentic.”

Brian Pane, a special education teacher at Cheektowaga Central High School in New York said bocce an ideal sport for inclusion, bringing people together, and for forming friendships through team camaraderie and competitive spirit.

“When you’re playing bocce there’s more time to develop interpersonal relationships, more time to talk and strategize, and more time to celebrate success together.”

Portable courts are improving access

Bocce may have started in Italy, but it has well and truly swept the globe in the last few years, with portable solutions like Packabocce courts making it easy bring the game anywhere.

The passport stamps picked up by Packabocce courts would be enough to make even the most seasoned travellers green with envy, with the inflatable courts now being used across the United States, Europe, Asia, South America and Oceania.

Packaworld Chief Executive Peter Roberts said he’s incredibly proud to play a part in bringing bocce to new people and places.

“Unlike traditional fixed courts, our Packabocce courts can be transported easily, and set up and packed away quickly.

“That means we’re seeing bocce pop up in places it might not have been possible before, and more people are getting the opportunity to experience the joy of bocce.”

Bocce on a P&O Cruise

Roberts said Packaworld was looking forward to bringing the game to even more new places this year, including the Special Olympics State Games in both New York and Maryland, as well as the Special Olympics Cayman Islands National Games, among many others.

With the help of portable courts, Special Olympics bocce participation is growing and it is now the third most played sport in the Special Olympics program, enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of athletes.

All the cool kids are doing it

From beaches, bars and business venues to sports events, street parties and music festivals, bocce is everywhere you want to be. It has shaken off any past preconceptions and is now being played by a growing number of people in their 20s and 30s, as well as those in their older years.

In the United States, much of this change has been driven by the American Bocce Company and other social league and event organisers that are bringing the game to bars, nightclubs and parties. People of all ages turn up for bocce, beers and banter, and come back week after week wanting more.

“We’re always looking to push the boundaries,” says American Bocce Company President and Co-founder Alex Gara.

“Our partnership with Packaworld is helping to take the game to new locations and venues.”

Social leagues run by groups like American Bocce Company are bringing bocce to US bars.

Bocce has also caught the eye of other sports codes, with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens taking to our Packabocce courts as part of a teambuilding day, and world-class Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina making use of Packabocce Courts to offer luxury bocce-themed teambuilding events for corporates.

One can only wonder where we might see bocce crop up in 2024 – any ideas?

Broadcasts taking the game to the world

Watch out darts, the popularity of bocce broadcasting is on the rise and the Bocce Broadcast Network (BBN) is at the fore.

The BBN is a recent development that bills itself as America’s home for bocce. Dreamed up during the Covid pandemic, it has been set-up to deliver high quality, entertaining broadcasts and streams of tournaments and events from across the United States – another way of bringing the game to people, no matter where they are.

Packaworld chief executive (left) with Michael Scialdone from Bocce Broadcast Network.

Broadcasts typically receive a few thousand views but we expect this to grow, as does the BBN team – they even have a goal to see bocce on ESPN.

Bocce enthusiasts can be part of that journey by subscribing to the YouTube channel, following BBN on Instagram and signing up to receive email updates so they never miss a broadcast.

Bocce's Olympic dream

With all eyes on Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics later this year, you might ask yourself whether bocce might one day be played on the big stage at the absolute pinnacle of world sport.

One of those carrying the torch is Gara – the man who has helped lead bocce’s revolution in the USA with the team at American Bocce Company.

“Bocce is happening. The Olympics … is a vision and a goal for us,” he said.

Bocce at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, Germany.

While the sport won’t be at this year’s event in Paris and hasn’t been listed for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, there’s still a chance for Brisbane 2032.

New sports are being added to the Olympic program all the time, with breaking (break dancing) making its first appearance in Paris this year, alongside surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing, which all debuted in Tokyo at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Los Angeles is set to welcome Flag Football and Squash for the first time, as well as the return of Baseball (men), Softball (women), Lacrosse and Cricket.

Watch this space!